“That remains to be seen.” His words were tortured. “Listen, Aurelia, there’s something I need to tell?—“
Suddenly, the emberflies started to swirl violently before disappearing into the trees. I sat up in a rush and saw no one else stirring. Weston cut himself off in confusion.
“What is?—“
I held up my hand to silence him.
“Danger,” I whispered, ripping the covers away and hurrying into a pair of pants, tucking in the shirt and undergarments I preferred when we slept in the open. “The emberflies sense danger. Something is coming.”
“My sentries would’ve seen it.”
“Emberflies never lie.” I pointed in the direction from which the emberflies had flown while grabbing the long, serrated knife Hadriel had found for me—stolen from someone else, I had a feeling—and my lantern.
“What’s the matter?” someone said sleepily. “I have your bag. You can’t get at the drugs.”
Nova. She’d become a second protector, guarding my back when Weston was busy.
“Is it a wild animal?” Weston stood, far too leisurely for my taste. “They won’t pose a problem for the sentries.”
In fairness, it could’ve been an animal. Emberflies didn’t specify what sort of danger lurked in the dark. Then again, specifying wasn’t necessary. Danger was danger, plain and simple.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly, still holding the knife. My heart beat a solid drum within me, urging me to get everyonemoving. My instincts said I had to either run and hide or get ready to fight but it was time tomake a choice.
I stepped from side-to-side, refusing to lay back down until I knew what sort of danger lurked.
Weston looked at Nova who nodded and stepped away, shifting. She was using the pack bonds to silently check in with the sentries.
It took one beat for her body to tense and one more for Weston to act.
“Let’s go.” He pushed the cot out of the way and grabbed my arm, stopping to grab my bag as he walked. “Hurry. Let’s get you hidden.”
“What’s happening?” someone asked as another said, “Alpha?”
“We’ve got company. Shift, hurry!” Weston didn’t run, instead used long strides and made me half jog to keep up beside him. At the carts, he handed me my bag to sling over my shoulder before reaching into the closest cart and grabbing a sack. Around us the pack jumped up and those that weren’t already in their wolf forms quickly shifted. Weston turned back to me and continued issuing directions. “Put your bag beside you. Keep your knife and your lantern close,” he told me. “Do notturn on that lantern, no matter how loud or quiet it gets around you. It is for an emergency only.”
“How will I know if it’s an emergency?”
“Your only aim is to stay alive. Given your past, I assume you’ll know when your life is in jeopardy.”
“Where will you be if that happens?”
“Dead. Here we go.” He stopped beside a bushy area run through with briars. Before I could question, he reached into the thorny branches and pushed a bunch of them to the side. “Crawl in.”
“I—“
“Crawl in,” he said again, his tone brooking no argument.
Overwhelmed by the command in his voice, the power, I did as he said, finding it surprisingly roomy the farther in I crawled. After turning around to face him, he handed me the sack.
“Inside there is a fairy-treated tarp that will mask your scent. Huddle in that space with your bag, your knife and your lantern close beside you. Cover yourself and your things completely with that tarp. This is very important Aurelia: the edges of that tarpmustbe touching the ground all around you or your scentwillescape. With that tarp over you, no one will be able to smell you to track you down, do you understand? The magic of that tarp will ensure it blends into the flora around you.”
“What about my scent trail leading here?”
“I’ll have someone take care of that. I’ve got to go. Huddle there and protect yourself, Aurelia. Do as your mother said and stay alive so that you can remember her, okay? Wait for one of us to come and get you, or wait for the right time to escape. I’m counting on you.”
With that, he let go of the briars, his hand and arm bleeding in several places from the thorns. He shifted there and his wolf looked in at me for a long moment, my chest dripping lava but nothing more, before turning and loping away.
I took a shaky breath and pulled the tarp from the sack. After unfolding it, I stretched it out and found it different than I’d expected. It felt almost like a stiff blanket, almost soft against my skin. I maneuvered against the bent branches inside the cluster of bushes and shoved at other bits that seemed like they’d been broken off entirely. As I gathered my things under the blanket, it occurred to me that Weston must’ve scouted this location upon our arrival for the sole purpose of hiding me should we run into trouble. He’d created a little nook and devised a way to keep me safe. He must’ve done it at each stop, at least since my escape from the mayor’s house, taking the time and effort to ensure thatnot only was his pack set up but that I had a safe, secret little burrow.
